Adjustable building foundation



July 31, 1945.

F. GUNNISON ADJUSTABLE BUILDING FOUNDATION Filed June 22, 1942 n I II Patented Jul 31.19

2,380,692 ADJUSTABLE BUILDING FOUNDATION Foster Gunnison, Louisville, Ky., assignor to Gunnison Homes, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application June 22, 1942, Serial No. 447,899

'" (on. 72-77) v 2 Claims.

This invention relates to building foundations and, more particularly, to adjustable building foundations. The invention has for its principal object the provision of an adjustable foundation particularly adapted for use with prefabricated or portable buildings and capable of ready installation and salvage.

In the construction and setting up of prefabricated or portable buildings, and particularly of such buildings having their floors and walls composed of a plurality of prefabricated panels, it is general practice to do away with cellars or basements and to provide such buildings merely with a foundation of sufficient height to separate the floor of the building from theground. Such foundations are generally of concrete or of rock and concrete set up in appropriate trenches. Not only is considerable labor involved indigging these trenches but a considerable care and skill is required in making-the foundation level. Settling of the foundation subsequent to erection of the building generally entails substantial expense in correction. Moreover, the materials which go into the foundation are not removable or salvageable and hence represent a complete loss if the building is subsequently dismantled ormoved.-- v I have now devised a. tion free from these objectionable features of conventional foundations and characterized by many salient advantages. The novel building foundation of my invention does not require the digging of an extensive trench, requires no special skill in leveling, and can be leveled at any time subsequent to its installation.- Furthera more, the adjustable building foundation of my invention may be removed when the building it supports is dismantled or removed and is thus not only salvageable but may be reused. It will be seen, therefore, that my adjustable building foundation is particularly adapted for use in the present war industry housing developments wherein many portable or prefabricated buildings are being set up for only temporary use or may be removed to other locations at a later time.

, vention comprises a foundation plate and a supporting shaft extending through the foundation plate in threaded engagement therewith. The

novel building founda-' showing the adjustable building foundation installed in the ground for support of a building;

The adjustable building foundation of my inl foundation plate may be provided with advan- I tage wlthvertical projections to insure substantially non-slipping engagement between the plate and the ground. ,The vertical projections may be webs projecting radially outwardly from ahub.

The supporting shaft is provided with means associated therewith adapted to'permit manual the foundation plate.

rotation of the shaft with respect to the foundation plate so as to effect vertical movement of the shaft relative to the foundation plate. Such means may comprise with advantage a bar or rodextending through the shaft. In a portable building construction having its floor composed of a plurality of prefabricated panels, the adjustable foundations of my invention are placed adjacent the corners of each panel and thus support the entire building.

These and other features of the adjustable building foundation of my invention will be further understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable building foundation of my invention;

Fig. 2 shows a modified form of foundation plate;

tion plate;

.Fig. 4 is aside view partly in cross-section and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a building having its floor composed of a plurality of prefabricated panels and showing the positioning of the adjustable foundation units for support of the building.

The adjustable building foundation illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a foundation plate 6 provided with a threaded opening I disposed substantially centrally of the plate. Although a circular plate, as shown in the drawing, has been found to be particularly useful, the foundation plate may be of any desired shape. Where the plate is of irregular shape, such as oval, square,-

hexagonal, etc., this irregularity will facilitate holding the plate stationary while the supporting shaft is rotated provided that the plate is inradia'ily from a, hub 9 coaxially aligned with the threaded opening I and provided with similar threads so as to present an extended threaded opening through the foundation plate. Although the form of foundation plate shown in Fig. 2 is advantageously used with the webs 8 on the top of the plate, it should be noted that the plate may be reversed so that thewebs .8 are disposed below Inthe modified form of foundation plate shown in Fig. 3 the projections are provided in the form of the downwardly projecting teeth or lugs to. The thickness of the foundation plate 6 depends largely upon thematerial of which it is constructed, the only criterion being that it must be sufficiently thick to bear the weight of the building which it supports. The modified form of foundation plate shown in Fig. 2 gains reinforcement from the webs 8 so that a, relatively thin light foundation plate may be used.

The supporting shaft II is provided along one end portion thereof with threads adapted to engage with the threaded opening I. in the foundation plate. The threaded end portion of the supporting shaft is screwed into the threaded necessary due to settling of the foundation in readily installed without requiring the digging of opening in the foundation plate and extends therethrough. The other end of the supporting shaft is provided with a suitable supporting surface such as the circular flange l2 provided with appropriate openings l3 through which screws, bolts or nails may be inserted. The central portion of the flange l2'is provided with an opening ll of appropriate size to accommodate the pin IS on the upper end of the supporting shaft, thereby providing a swivel joint between the supporting shaft and the flange 12. The supporting shaft is further provided with suitable means for permitting manual rotation of the shaft with respect to the foundation plate, this means comprising with particular advantage the hand bar or rod is extending through the shaft II. The position of the hand bar I6 with respect to the end of the supporting shaft is preferably such that it is disposed a short distance below the surface of the ground when the adjustable foundation is installed, as shown in Fig. 4.

In installing the adjustable foundation of my invention, as illustrated in Fig. 4, a hole is first dug in the ground atthe point at which'the foundation is to give support to a building to be' erected. The hole should be sufficiently wide to accommodate the foundation plate 6. I have found it to be advantageous to dig the hole somewhat deeper than the depth of the foundation unit and to fill it up a short distance with rock or with a mixture of rock and earth, as indicated at IT, leaving a central depression [8 adapted to accommodate the lower end of the supporting shaft projecting below the foundation plate 6. Where the earth is sufficiently firm to support the extensive trenches. Each such foundation is adjustable not only when first installed but at any subsequent time so that the floor of a building supported by such a foundation may at all times be kept level. The adjustable building foundation is not dependent upon the use of critical metals which are needed at present in the national war effort and may be constructed in whole or in part of concrete or of any other appropriately strong material although it may be constructed of iron or steel. The adjustable building foundations of my invention may also 'be removed readily when a building supported by them is dismantled or is removed to another location and thus are not only salvageable but may be reused indefinitely.

I claim:

1. An adjustable building foundation for supporting a building above the surface of the ground comprising a foundation plate constructed to be deposited within the ground a substantial disfoundation plate, filling of the hole with rock, v

etc. may be eliminated and the foundation plate 6 may rest on the bottom of the hole with the lower end of the supporting shaft projecting into -fl00r panels,.as indicated by the position of the supporting flanges I2 in Fig. 5 showing the floor plan of a building composed of eight individual panels. After the floor panels are laid and are appropriately fastened together, the-supporting shaft ll of each adjustable foundation is rotated by means of the hand bar l6 until the floor is level. The hole in which each adjustable foundation is installed is then back-filled with earth in any appropriate manner. It will be-observed that when each holeis filled the hand bar Hi will be covered and is thus concealed so that it can not be tampered with. If subsequent adjustment of the level of the building becomes tance below the surface thereof, said plate having a threaded opening extending therethrough, a, supporting shaft extending through said plate in threaded engagement with the opening therein, the threads on said shaft extending beyond both sides of the plate, said shaft being of such length as to have its upper end extend above the surface of the ground a substantial distance and having a portion to be engaged to rotate the shaft, the plate having projections extending therefrom to engage the surrounding ground to prevent rotation of the plate when the shaft is rotated, a plate at the upper end of the shaft adapted to bear against the underside of the building to be supported, and a swivel connection between the upper end of the shaft and the plate.

2. An adjustable building foundation for supporting a building above the surface of the ground comprisinga foundation plate constructed to be deposited within the ground a substantial distance below the surface thereof, said plate having 'a threaded opening extending therethrough, a, supporting shaft extending through said plate in threaded engagement with the opening therein, the threads on said shaft extending beyond both sides of the plate, said shaft being of such length as to have its upper end extend above the surface of the ground a substantial distance and having a portion to be engaged to rotate the shaft, the plate having projections extending therefrom to engage the surrounding ground'to prevent rotation of the plate when the shaft'is rotated, and a fiat plate having an opening therein at the upper end of the shaft adapted to bear against the underside of the building to be supported, the shaft at its upper end having a reduced'portion received within the opening in the plate to form a swivel connection therewith, with the end of the shaft surrounding the reduced porttion bearing against the underside of the pla e. 1

FOSTER GUNNISON. 

